The present invention relates generally to a process and apparatus for processing strips of a photographic tape material having a surface which is at least partially coated, with, for example, an emulsion.
Processing methods for strips of photographic tape material, for example, negative film strips, and the corresponding equipment are currently employed in many variants by photographic laboratories. Depending on the type, they permit a more or less automatic processing of client orders. This is particularly the case with follow-up orders, when the copy masters are already available in the form of cut negative film strips. A high degree of automation is an advantage here, both in increasing efficiency, and thus the number of negatives to be processed per unit of time, and in assuring a high degree of reliability.
A process and corresponding device for processing such film strips is known by the prior art, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,213. There the bar code (DX code) applied to the margin of the film strip is read. Based on the position of the DX code on the upper or lower margin of the film strip, and based on the scanned sequence, it can be determined whether the film strip is located in the desired position, for example, whether the coated side (the side to which the photosensitive emulsion is applied) is located above or below. Also determined is whether the image areas of the film strip are in the "upright" position. It may also be determined that though the film strip is positioned on the correct coated side, the image field is upside-down; or though the film strip is positioned on the wrong coated side, the image area is in an "upright" position; or both the film strip is positioned on the wrong side and the image area is upside-down.
Particularly when the coated side of the film strip is not in the desired position (for example, the coated side faces down rather than up), the automatic developing process must be interrupted, and the operating personnel must turn the film strip over before it can be fed for further processing. This considerably reduces the processing efficiency for such film strips, since stopping the apparatus, removing the given film strip, rethreading the strip, etc., and restarting the apparatus consumes a considerable period of time, during which processing of other film strips is impossible since the apparatus is out of operation. This is equivalent to the loss of efficiency.